Final phase of storm reaches region

Small bands of snow continue to fall in central and southern West Virginia with spotty squalls in parts of eastern Kentucky. Temperatures have fallen into the upper 20s and while most roads are in very good condition, bridges and overpasses can get briefly snow covered when squalls pass through. Also with falling temperatures, any areas of standing water are freezing over making parking lots and sidewalks slippery. Salt treatments will still be effective. Wind chills are in the he teems from Charleston to the east and are in the single digits in the higher terrain areas of West Virginia.

UPDATE:

Snow showers will continue to move to the east into midday with some light snow flurries possible into the afternoon. The bulk of the system pushes off to the higher terrain into the afternoon and will remain there into the overnight. The higher terrain, especially the NW facing slopes could see higher amounts as snow continues to fall in those area into the overnight. The "Snow Belt" could see 4" to 6" of accumulation with some peaks possible piling up around 8".

Major roadways are looking pretty good, just wet, but caution needs to be given to bridges and overpasses as those surfaces are the same temperatures as the air. Temperatures in most areas are at or blow freezing and will hold there throughout the afternoon before quickly dropping into the overnight. Back roads, especially ones that get a lot of shade will be slick as road temps will be lower than the highways. Take extra time if traveling around today and tonight.

Wet roads will refreeze tonight as temps drop to the teens making for dangerous early Thanksgiving day travel. Winds will be gusty overnight dropping wind chill values to single digits. Bundle up if outside, wear lots of layers and try to cover up any exposed skin.

All clears out for Thanksgiving Day. We'll see lots of sunshine but temps will remain cold only reaching near freezing once again. We will warm as we head into the weekend.

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ORIGINAL:

Rain is changing to snow across the area today after a full day of rain, making for possible slick conditions for Wednesday morning's commute in the region.

Chief meteorologist Spencer Adkins says subfreezing temperatures and wet snow could make for a slow trip as well early Wednesday.

"Bridges and overpasses do freeze first so people need to be very cautious of those areas if they are out before dawn on Wednesday," said Adkins.

The StormTracker 13 forecast calls for approximately two to four inches of snow in the majority of the viewing area with snow starting before midnight in Ohio, ending there toward sunrise, but sticking around in parts of Kentucky and most of West Virginia through mid day. After that, snow should mainly be seen in the high terrain areas of West Virginia near Summersville and points east.

"The big thing we want to convey is the fact that we have a ton of people expected on the roadways and don't focus on the number in terms of inches of snow because it only takes a little snow or ice to make roads dangerous in our area," said Adkins. "By mid morning the main roads should be just wet and the snow should accumulate on the grass so driving conditions will improve as the day goes on except for the high terrain in places like Richwood and Fayetteville."

Once the snow stops, colder air rushes in, dropping temperatures to the teens and the StormTracker meteorologists say that could be even more of a problem for icy patches.

"Melting snow and puddles from all of the rain could really freeze over quickly Wednesday night so we want people to be very careful even after the snow stops," said Adkins.